Estimating Blast Exposures From The 2020 Beirut Explosion And Examining Correlation With Blast Injuries

Abstract

On 4 th August 2020, approximately 2750 tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate stored in the port of Beirut ignited, causing a huge explosion that damaged large parts of the city, causing more than 200 deaths and over 7,000 injuries. Injured victims' locations at the time of the explosion were previously unreported and unknown due to improper documentation. Without such knowledge, a victim's degree of blast exposure cannot be estimated, preventing further understanding of how blast loading contributed to injury outcomes.Results from this study highlight the capacity and limitations of blast modelling approaches for injury prediction through examination of a real-world urban blast case study. New knowledge can be used to inform disaster management and guide the protection of civilians exposed to urban blasts.